Books
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A fascinating history of women’s football from early 20th century heights, through suppression, to its present-day resurgence
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A tour of the science, culture and history of bisexuality that ranges from the vehemently political to the charmingly weird
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The American award winner brings his laser-like focus to the story of a teen and his terminally ill mother
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In this analysis of six national leaders, the grand old man of US politics offers a broad-brush history of international statecraft but ignores the death and destruction that sometimes resulted
What to read
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From Ukrainian history to Putin’s kleptocracy and Gogol’s stories, author and former Russia correspondent Oliver Bullough chooses the best titles
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Looking for a new reading recommendation? Here are some wonderful new paperbacks, from new editions of classic Marvel comics to great novels for the summer
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The teacher relates his experiences in the education system – many of them shocking – with insight, intelligence and wit
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In this ‘greatest hits’ collection, the author of the acclaimed Empire of Pain stops at nothing in pursuit of the truth
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Squalor, Kate Moss, prison, class A drugs… the indie frontman and tabloid fixture’s memoir is lucid, candid and, ultimately, hopeful
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A teenage ghost observes the erotic and creative bond between composer and author in Stevens’s playful debut novel
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The Three Women author once again explores female desire and sexual power dynamics in a collection of stories that often feel shockingly true
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This Dutch novel takes aim at the depersonalising corrosiveness of the internet, but becomes laboured
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The financial crash and subsequent protests provide points of orientation in a surreal tale of love, loss and speculative reality
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A secret day out at the seaside; a celebration of wildflowers; dinosaurs, spies and children with superpowers
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A call to embrace wildness, a guide to shells, a tall tree tale, wishing candles, paper spirits, and a tough apology to make
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Voices of everyday things fill The Book of Form and Emptiness, rooted in how she experienced the loss of her father
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The award-winning author on the urgency she felt when writing her pandemic novel, how she relates to Sarah Connor from The Terminator and what Egon Schiele’s paintings make her feel
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The French-Algerian author on teenage fame, the parallels between her and Zinedine Zidane, and why she admires Bernardine Evaristo
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The novelists discuss using real life in fiction, email style, and the art of writing sex scenes
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The Albanian author and academic on what she misses most about her homeland and how a communist childhood steeped in lies sparked her interest in philosophy
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As a child star, the actor suffered trauma and neglect. Now an acclaimed director, she is confronting the ghosts of her past with a frank new book
Regulars
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The crime writer on being fascinated by A Clockwork Orange, inspired by Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde and taking comfort in Muriel Spark’s novel
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Context is crucial, but does that really mean we can leave free will out of the picture?
You may have missed
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Unpublished writers from black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds have until 14 August to submit their entries for the Guardian and publisher 4th Estate’s competition
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The annual award for aspiring cartoonists offers the chance to be published in the Observer and win £1,000, with past winners going on to land film and book deals
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Kate Clanchy’s memoir about teaching won the Orwell prize. Then, a year later, it became the centre of a storm that would engulf the lives of the author, her critics and dozens of people in the book trade. So what happened?
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Meet the footballing bees, optimistic pigs and alien-like octopuses that are shaking up how we think about minds
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Where to start with: WG Sebald